Skip Barber News: Andretti Global to run Oliver Wheldon
Andretti Global announced today that junior development driver Oliver Wheldon will make his car racing debut in the 2024 Skip Barber Race Series with continued support from Gainbridge and Group 1001. Skip Barber Racing School, the world’s largest automotive education and entertainment company, will continue its partnership with the team’s driver development program serving as the official racing school of Andretti INDYCAR and Andretti INDY NXT.
The son of the late, two-time Indianapolis 500 Champion Dan Wheldon joins the Skip Barber Race Series after a successful start in karting saw the 12-year-old score championship titles in the SKUSA Winter Series (2020, 2022) and the Rok Cup FWT (2020, 2021). The younger Wheldon joins the Skip Barber Race Series field just one year after brother Sebastian, also an Andretti development driver, won the 2023 Championship title awarding him a $100,000 scholarship to compete in the USF Junior Championship.
Wheldon joins a long list of Andretti drivers to train with Skip Barber, including his father Dan, Michael and Marco Andretti, Bryan Herta, current Andretti INDYCAR drivers Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood and current Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti drivers Jordan and Ricky Taylor. With international racing experience, celebrated skill and the firm belief that competitive race car driving was teachable, Skip Barber founded his legendary racing school in 1975. Since that first class, over 400,000 students have become graduates and champions.
The 2024 Skip Barber Race Series will consist of seven weekends that will offer drivers access to the most iconic tracks coast-to-coast and will award $375,000 in scholarships. The overall Series champion will be offered a scholarship valued at $100,000 to advance to the USF Juniors Series the following season. Wheldon will be on track training with the Skip Barber Racing School at Sebring International Raceway February 7-8 in preparation for his Skip Barber Race Series debut also at Sebring March 1-3.
J-F THORMANN, PRESIDENT, ANDRETTI GLOBAL
“It’s been exciting to watch Oliver grow as a driver as he’s worked his way through the karting ranks, and we’re confident that this is the right time for him to take the next step into car racing. Our partnership with Skip Barber has been the perfect fit for strengthening our driver development program and we’re happy to welcome them back this year as our official racing school.”
OLIVER WHELDON, ANDRETTI DEVELOPMENT DRIVER, SKIP BARBER RACE SERIES
“I am super excited to race with Skip Barber in 2024! This will help me a lot with becoming a better driver and learning to feel more comfortable in the car after making the leap from karts. I can also lean on my brother Sebastian for advice, as he won the championship last year. I want to thank Andretti and Gainbridge for their continued support. I’m really looking forward to my first year in cars.”
DAN DEMONTE, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SKIP BARBER RACING SCHOOL
“The Skip Barber Racing School is pleased to extend the corporate partnership with Andretti Global by welcoming Oliver Wheldon to the Skip Barber Race Series for the 2024 season. The Skip Barber Racing School and Skip Barber Race Series are the most robust training grounds for budding racers in the world and there is no better place for Oliver to begin his journey in car racing. We look forward to another successful season with the Wheldon and Andretti families.”
MIKE NICHOLS, CHIEF OF SPONSORSHIP STRATEGY AND ACTIVATIONS, GROUP 1001
“The move from karting into car racing is a major milestone in a driver’s career and Oliver has shown that he is more than ready to make that jump. Our team is committed to supporting athletes who want to push themselves forward and we’re honored that we have a front-row seat to watch Oliver’s motorsports career progress. We have no doubt that he will continue to grow this season and can’t wait to see what lies ahead.”